This weeks’ topic deals with concussions. Brain injury has been a hot topic in national sports leagues as of late, and for good reason. The danger associated with high impact collisions however is what puts many sports fans in the seats. The following two clips are of two NHL hits. The first is a completely legal, clean hit.
Clean Hit
Recent years have shown a trend towards “safer” hockey. Implementation of mouth guards has been strongly enforced at all levels of the sport and in many states age which young athletes can start checking has raised. Part of this can be attributed to creating to the goal of creating a safer environment. Part of it can be contributed to a lack of fans in the NHL. The NHL created a game focused more on “free” skating, skills and ultimately higher scoring games to put more fans in the seats. Tighter crackdown on physical play has trickled down to collegiate and youth levels, creating a “safer” game. Most normal hockey fans love hard, open ice hits like the one above. The fact that the player obviously suffered head trauma is unfortunate, but hockey is a physical sport. Injuries such as this are expected to happen, although they are much less likely than the one shown below.
One Punched
This clip is interesting for a couple of reasons. Most hockey injuries are caused “cheap”, illegal hits. Now this punch may have been illegal or penalized, but it was by no means cheap. Both players were squared up and looking each other in the face, expecting to get punched. The player, who was knocked out, Matt Cooke, exemplifies why most hockey injuries happen. Type his name into YouTube and you’ll see a list of videos of him sticking out his knee and blindsiding players. Not only is he unenjoyably to watch, except in clips like above, but he puts the players who actually do something exciting at risk. The point is that the rules and guidelines in the NHL regarding head injuries are safe. Yes, there likely could be improvement, but it is not the biggest issue which puts brains at risks. It is with the enforcement of these rules. Hockey is a high pace sport, accidents happen and not every blindside illegal hit is intentional. Players however who are continually associated with these “accidents” are the problem. Why are players like Matt Cooke still playing professional hockey?
Don Cherry Wearing A Normal Suite
NHL Hockey Brains
